Cremation Cemetery Options
Families often gather for a funeral or memorial service before or after a loved one’s cremation, but what will happen in the weeks, months and years to come? Establishing a permanent place to visit, remember and reflect can help with the grieving process and create a lasting legacy. Many cemeteries offer a wide range of customizable options for a loved one's ashes, including scattering gardens, ground burial, mausoleum niches, columbaria, pedestals, benches, boulders and more.
Get A Guide for Families Choosing Cremation
Learn what you need to know to choose the best provider for your family’s needs.
Private or community mausoleums
A mausoleum can be a private or community space for an individual, couple, family or special group. Mausoleums may contain both caskets and cremation urns, and can include indoor and outdoor spaces. Cremation urns can be placed in granite-front or glass-front niches within the mausoleum. Private walk-in mausoleums can also be customized with stained-glass windows, etchings or memorial sculptures to reflect the unique personalities of those honored inside.
Cremation gardens
Cremation gardens are beautifully landscaped areas designed to bury or scatter ashes. Many also include outdoor seating, water features and statuary. Tribute options in a cremation garden can include pedestals, markers, benches, boulders and more. Options can be personalized to capture the history and passions of a special life.
Columbaria and cremation niches
A columbarium is a public or private space where a loved one's urn can be placed in a niche for permanent remembrance. It can be an indoor or outdoor structure, large or small, and is usually constructed of granite and personalized with etching and maybe even a bronze plaque. A cremation pillar is another name for a stand-alone outdoor columbarium.
A columbarium might have granite-front niches with bronze plaques commemorating the loved one memorialized there. In contrast, glass-front niches are typically found inside a mausoleum or columbarium inside a funeral home. Families typically appreciate glass-front niches, because in addition to holding a loved one's ashes, they can also display cherished mementos and photographs. Some niches hold an individual loved one's ashes; companion niches can hold the ashes of two.
Private family estates
Private or semiprivate family estate areas are generally set off by walls, benches or hedges, and can accommodate in-ground burial of urns or a combination of caskets and urns. They can also be used for aboveground inurnment. These estate areas can be customized to include beautiful landscaping, ornate gates, stone walls and other unique options, providing distinction for the family honored there.
Memorials for cremation scatterings
Even if a loved one's ashes have been scattered somewhere else, a permanent memorial in a cemetery can serve as an important and lasting tribute to the life and legacy of that special person. Having a place to visit, reflect and remember can also be an important part of the grieving process. A special and permanent remembrance after scattering can include beautiful memorial options such as a statue, plaque, birdbath or sundial on cemetery grounds.
Pedestals, benches and boulders
Personalized tributes such as cremation pedestals, benches and boulders provide a lasting memorial for future generations to visit, reflect and remember. Typically made of granite, bronze or marble, pedestals and benches can be inscribed with names, dates, messages, mottoes, verses and more. Similarly, pedestals may mark where ashes are buried or may be hollowed to hold an urn placement. Cremation boulders offer the same personalization while blending in with the natural environment. All of these custom-built memorials provide permanent places for friends and family to visit for years to come.
Complimentary Remembrance Memorial™
We believe that every family should be able to create an ongoing tribute to the person they loved. Select Dignity Memorial cemeteries offer a free cremation placement or you may choose a credit toward another cemetery option. See our list of participating cemeteries and ask your provider for details.
Plan a memorable cremation memorial
A Guide for Families Choosing Cremation helps you understand your cremation options and how to plan a truly memorable event. The guide is free, and it will help you start planning today. Then, when you are ready, a Dignity Memorial provider will be there to walk you through every step.